Why is the causative used for a transitive verb in this case?

Question

Saw this sample sentence on Tangorin:

その物音が私を眠りから覚まさせた。 The noise awoke me from my sleep.

Since 覚ます is a transitive verb, I do not understand why not simply use the past tense instead:

その物音が私を眠りから覚ました。 (past tense)

A transitive verb can be used in its causative form when the speaker is making someone do said verb. However, I do not think that is the case here, since the sentence should be thus written instead (from my understanding):

(私は)その物音に私を眠りから覚まさせた。 (causative)

Nonetheless, this seems utterly awkward to me.

Alternatively, if the speaker wishes to express the negative nuance, the causative-passive can be utilized:

(私は)その物音に私を眠りから覚まさせられた。 (causative-passive)

Am I miserably mistaken?

I fear that my use of particles here may be incorrect, and juggling these different forms around exacerbates the situation.

Please send help.

Answer 1

According to a native speaker, using the past tense or the causative expresses the same meaning in this case. Additionally, one can also say:

私はその物音で目を覚ました。

Here the subject changes, but the meaning is more or less the same.